Anthology Selection

Neither of us realised how difficult a task this would be. So many good pieces, so many talented writers, and we wish we could have published every single response as a celebration of everyone’s generosity and commitment. But as that would have resulted in a volume twice the size of War and Peace we had to be practical!

As the original Messages were written as stand alone pieces, despite the links between them, we looked for an element of self containment; writing that did not necessarily depend on the posted message. We also focussed on closure, often one of the most difficult things to achieve in short fiction and poetry, and looked for endings that offered some kind of fulfilment, though not necessarily any firm resolution, and certainly not necessarily happy endings. And finally, we had to consider variety, and how the pieces worked all together.

Again, thank you to everyone who took part in ‘Your Messages’; all your names will appear in the book, regardless of whether your work has been chosen or not. And please be assured that every piece has been read by both of us very carefully indeed. Thank you for that.

I'm so, so chuffed to be a part of this. Thanks so much for selecting my two flashes. I can't wait for the launch party and the publication of the booklet. I'll be pushing it on my blog to try and make as much money for the charity as possible. Thanks so much for running the YourMessages project. It was great fun and publication is just the icing on the cake.

I'm so excited that my piece is to be included, I can't wait to see the booklet and reread them all in the flesh.Thanks again for running such a great project, I feel I was part of something really special :)

Thank you so much for selecting my work. I'm so pleased and I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone else and seeing their stories in print next year!

I messed up and forgot to include my proper address details when I submitted which I am guessing is why I've not been emailed. I'm one4thefuture and my story is on the 21st- my name is Cath Selby and my email address is one4thefuture@hotmail.com OR cathrinmarina@hotmail.co.uk

Thanks for choosing my piece amongst the wonderful contributions. I'm so excited. Congratulations to everyone! Too bad I can't meet you all at the launch. Have a lot of fun on the 31st January, it's been wonderful to meet you all here. Good luck with your writing in the future.

Add Your Own Message HereIf you want to take part - great. All you need to do is add your response to our message here as a comment, but remember it has to be exactly 30 or 300 words, and it needs to be posted before 8am GMT the morning after the original post for each day. Please also remember to add your Name and Email Address to the end of your message, so that we can get in touch if your work is selected.

Please donate to our charity appeal!

Last year we sold books for Kids Company. This year we are inviting you - if you have enjoyed taking part in the project, or just reading the results - to make your own donation. Just click on the image above, or contact us for details. Thank you!

The mothership (or book!)

This is where it all began! 300 pieces of 300 words. If you haven't got it already, why not invest in your own copy and get prompts for the rest of the year! Click on the book to order one.